


Wildflower

by janetcarter



Category: Earth 2 (TV 1994)
Genre: Family, Gen, Memories, Minor Character Death, Pneumonia, Post-Canon, Pre-Series, Reflection, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23564611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janetcarter/pseuds/janetcarter
Summary: On the road to New Pacifica, Bess reflects on her life.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Wildflower

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this about a year ago for a challenge I never completed, but I thought I'd post it on its own regardless.

The air on G-889 was clean. It was alive, buzzing with insects and pollen and ever-changing leaves. It sifted through Bess's thick hair, leaving no trace of ash or cinder-fall; just tangled strands.

But earth air? Breathing it was no easy feat. Breathing it with a fire in your lungs was something different altogether.

It'd started with a fever. Before she'd known it, she could hardly get out of bed. Her father's calloused hands covered hers, tight and reluctant to let go.

"Be strong, Bessie," his gravelly voice spoke. He pressed a kiss into her forehead, which she wished would last forever, before leaving for the mines. Despite their unbreathable underground atmosphere, he left his canteen behind.

With only staticky radio transmissions to keep her company, she looked to a faded picture of Mama propped up on the dresser. A dusty film covered the glass, obscuring her brilliant smile. She missed it. A similar illness had stolen it from her lips in the weeks before it stole her from Bess.

A cough overtook Bess's throat before more wracked her body. The scratchy blanket was both too much and not enough as she huddled beneath, convulsing in chills in contrast to her fever. Slipping away, she thought she could hear her mother's voice. It was sweet, lulling. It felt like if she sank into it she would feel her mama's arms around her once more.

But, back in the reality of her hacking, she refused to leave her daddy alone. She'd survived worse. She would survive this, too. She was strong, resilient. She'd pull through.

As Bess looked out over the lush hills of G-889, she wondered what had happened to the little girl who was so determined to thrive in a dying world. Coming here only showed her what earthers should've had. All that suffering and death and despair was unnecessary, but the higher-ups had left it a wasteland with no remorse. They abandoned it for the stations, out of sight out of mind. She wasn't much better then, was she? She left earth on its last legs. She abandoned it. She abandoned him.

She clutched her necklace.

He'd slipped it into her palm that day. Closing her fingers over it, his hands clasped around hers as though she'd be carried off by ashy winds the moment he let go.

"You know, Bessie… They say this was the last wildflower on this rock." He let out a deep sigh before letting her open her hands. Enclosed in glass pendant was a browning yellow flower. The life in it was gone, but it was safe in its shell. "That ain't true. The last wildflower'll be gone soon as you step up into that pod."

She barely remembered saying goodbye. She'd flung her arms around him so tight, he had to be the one to finally let go. She remembered the feeling of stepping onto the ship, free but heavy. Holding onto her necklace like an oxygen mask, she knew what she was taking didn't belong among the stars.

Morgan would be waiting for her up on the station. She wished he could've come that day, but there was some meeting for Eden Project… The details always went over her head. Without him to hold her hand, she sat alone and watched her home shrink away.

When she drifted off into cold sleep, she could only think about how selfish she was. Daddy always said he wanted better for her, but she couldn't ignore the look in his old and weathered eyes… Not like she'd ever look into them again.

By now, as she cradled her necklace in her palms, he was… probably gone. He was bound to be with mama. And she was here, 22 lightyears away from the world of her birth. She wouldn't wish earth's conditions on anyone, but still. Why should she get to come here when no one else could? When he couldn't?

He deserved it so much more. He ran himself ragged just to keep her alive 'til the next step. She would've hop-scotched into an oil slick by now without him always there to pull her out of harm's way. It would have been a dream to let him see the station. Morgan wouldn't've been keen on bringing him up with them, but daddy said it himself: he wouldn't have fit in. He knew no other life. Earthers were his people; not even station-born blue collars could understand.

She faced it herself: the discrimination walking through pristine halls. It was too pristine, evidently. Earth no longer was fit for humans. The station wasn't fit for Earthers. G-889 was the one place she could survive; the one place she could belong.

She just wished he could have seen it, too.

When they drew closer to New Pacifica, she saw them: vibrant flowers dotting the way. They sprung up all down the coast in colors the daughter of an Earth miner could've never even dreamed. At rest points, went off by herself and gently pocketed their tiny seeds.

New Pacifica was something she hadn't had in a long time: a permanent home. There was work to be done, adjustments to be made, exploring to be done. But she planted them outside her tent, sinking her hands into fertile soil once more. Her hands buried the tiny seeds, fostering them to one day reach the stars.


End file.
